Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, many parents told us they needed reliable child care. We heard of a particular need for permanent policies and programs in this area. These programs could include in-school or workplace child care services for young mothers so that they could continue their education or jobs.

We heard that one way to care for children even before they are born is for women to avoid drinking while pregnant. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects were mentioned as particular problems among children. People told us that they estimated that anywhere from 15 to 50 per cent of the students in a given school may show the effects of these conditions. We were disappointed to note that the government has yet to respond to our earlier recommendation, to undertake a clinical study to get an accurate picture of the extent of FAS/FAE in the Northwest Territories.

Here, too, we were told that government departments must cooperate more on matters involving children and children's issues. Sometimes public officials do not seem to communicate with one another. Sometimes there seems to be no one responsible for particular issues. We also learned that outdated legislation is an obstacle to effective service provision to children at risk.

Mr. Speaker, our recommendations for children and youth deal with such matters as suicide prevention, the need for new child welfare legislation, coordination between government agencies, safe shelters, overcrowding in the home, more effective and interactive public education programs and ways to encourage young people to pursue careers in health and social services. Mr. Speaker, our specific recommendations for children and youth are as follows:

Recommendation 23

Ways must be found to communicate more effectively with young people to raise their awareness of health and social issues that affect them.

Recommendation 24

Measures to establish in-school and workplace child care services for young parents should be encouraged and supported.

Recommendation 25

A permanent child care policy must be established.

Recommendation 26

The recommendations of the Family Law Review must be implemented quickly. The new legislative framework should be presented to the Legislative Assembly by March 31, 1994.

Recommendation 27

New and more practical criteria governing the selection, development and monitoring of foster homes must be developed.

Recommendation 28

Interdepartmental agreements must be put in place quickly to ensure that early intervention services are available right away. Due to the urgency of this matter, a report must be provided to the Legislative Assembly during the 1994 winter session.

And now, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask my colleague, the honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Fred Koe, to conclude this report.